Liverpool’s £8 million signing of Philippe Coutinho will go down as one of best pieces of business in the club's rich history.

That’s no exaggeration, either.

The Brazilian was signed by Brendan Rodgers in January 2012 and he soon established himself as one of the best attacking midfielders in the Premier League.

By the time Jurgen Klopp took over in October 2016, Coutinho was a star.

His 13 goals during the 2016/17 season helped the Reds finish fourth and reach the League Cup and Europa League final.

The club somehow managed to keep hold of him in the summer of 2017 despite him handing in a transfer request as he tried to force through a dream move to Barcelona. The Reds managed to keep hold of him before eventually welcoming him back to first-team football.

And he was flying with 12 goals in 20 appearances.

But when the January transfer window opened again, Coutinho started acting up again and he claimed a back injury.

Klopp attempted to persuade his star man to stay by saying: “Stay here and they will end up building a statue in your honour.

Go somewhere else, to Barcelona, to Bayern Munich, to Real Madrid, and you will be just another player.

"Here you can be something more."

Just how accurate was Klopp in hindsight?

Klopp gave up trying to keep him and managed to get a £142 million fee from Barcelona for the wantaway midfielder.

But Coutinho’s dream turned into a nightmare after a string of abject performances saw him shipped out on loan to Bayern Munich. The German club had an option to sign him permanently at the end of this season but now, according to BILD, the Bundesliga giants have now refused to trigger that clause after not being impressed with his performances.

And after that latest news, Liverpool fans have been remembering Klopp’s words of wisdom back in 2017. Like this example:

In those years, Liverpool have reached two Champions League finals - winning one of them - have won the Super Cup and the Club World Cup and are now set to win the Premier League.

Not forgetting Liverpool's incredible comeback in the Champions League semi-final against Coutinho's Barcelona last season.

If he had remained at Anfield, Coutinho would still have been a star and would probably have established himself as a club legend by now.

Instead, he’ll probably be looking for a new club this summer as Liverpool celebrate their Premier League title.